Y FELINHELI 2

LLANDYRNOG UNITED 4

(after extra time)

VILLAGERS are still on the march in a regional competition.

Llandyrnog United braved the elements to record an important win in their last-16 Mawddach Challenge Cup tie at lower league Y Felinheli.

All of the ingredients were there for a cup shock, as the pitch barely passed a pre-match inspection and the tie was played in driving wind, rain and snow.

United were also missing a number of key players, with injury meaning they couldn’t field a full bench.

Despite this, Llandyrnog made a positive start and they should have been a couple of goals to the good in the first 10 minutes.

Captain Mark Roberts shot narrowly wide, before he struck the crossbar with a long-range piledriver.

The woodwork hadn’t finished shaking by the time Dion Jones hit it again moments later.

This time, it was the foot of the post that kept out his close range effort.

After weathering this storm, Y Felinheli started to gain a foothold in the tie and they created a good opportunity to take the lead.

However, they were foiled by a smart save from Llandyrnog number one Stuart Griffiths.

Conditions got worse as the game went on, making any sort of good football almost impossible.

So, it was no surprise that it remained goalless at the interval.

A flurry of activity in the first quarter-of-an-hour of the second half saw the cup tie come to life.

First, top marksman Mark Roberts gave Ryan Harden’s men the lead with a well-taken header.

Almost immediately, United found themselves being reduced to 10 men when Conor Jones was dismissed for a second bookable offence.

The hosts wasted little time in making the most of their numerical advantage as they soon equalised.

Poor marking allowed Connor Japheth a free header from a set piece.

It was the turn of the 10 men to respond quickly after this and they reclaimed the lead when Roberts fired home his second goal of the afternoon.

The away side then defended superbly for the remainder of the game and they thought they had the tie won, only to be denied by an injury time leveller.

Again, a set piece was their undoing and Dylan Jones poked home from a free kick to send the tie into extra time.

It would have been easy for Llandyrnog to let the disappointment of the late equaliser deflate them.

To their credit - and even with only 10 men - United were the stronger side in extra time.

After Mark Roberts was denied by a brilliant save from the home keeper, Llandyrnog got their vital third goal with a brilliant strike from substitute Matthew Pendleton.

Their passage into the quarter-finals was sealed late on.

Great work from Billy Holmes set up that man Roberts to complete his hat-trick.

Team boss Ryan Harden said: "I couldn’t be prouder of the shift the lads put in, especially after the sending off.

"To make sure we got through after playing that long with 10 men on an absolute mudbath was a great effort."